THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

A Texas Bluebonnet Award Book

The Lost Planet by Rachel Searles is the first book in a fast-paced, action-packed, mysterious two-part space adventure series.

Chase Garrety woke up on a strange planet with a head wound. He has no memory of who he is, who is trying to kill him, or how he was able to pass through a security fence. He is driven by a desire to discover his past and complete an urgent mission to “guide the star.”

The main theme of the book is you should respect authority without mindlessly trusting it.

There is also an emphasis on justice, loyalty, and protecting those you care for.

Content of which to be aware:

• Slang, insults, exclamations or profanity: “good lords”, “swear to god”, “keep your mouth shut”, “what the heck”, “shut up”, “idiot”, “stupid”, “freak”, “I hate you”, “dumb”, “dummy”, “jerk”, “fat”, “moron”, “coward”, “weirdo”, “whatever,” “crazy”, “wimp”, freaking”, “Earthan trash”, “drad it”, etc.
• Mild violence, but no gore
• An entire planet erupts in flames and is destroyed
• A character is attacked by dangerous underground monsters
• A character has a head injury caused by a blaster gun and suffers memory loss
• A child points a blaster gun at another character
• “It was better to travel with the devil they knew than the devil they didn’t.”
• A character has an illegal weapon
• A character knocks a boy down and holds a knife to his throat
• A doctor’s lab is raided
• Characters steal a spaceship
• A character stereotypes and discriminates against the Lyolian, an alien species
• Sections of a city are segregated because various species fight each other
• An ID marker is implanted under a character’s scalp
• An android attacks other characters
• Children are abducted by henchmen
• A character smuggles missiles
• A character is able to “phase” and pass through solid objects
• A character steals from a street peddler
• A character has a seizure
• Characters almost drown
• A character forces another character to wear a collar that compels the wearer to obey commands
• Characters sedate another character
• A child’s parents are killed
• A character stuns another character
• A character’s arms are amputated; however, it is a species that can regrow arms
• A character threatens to choke another character
• Characters on a spaceship are low on supplies and have to ration food; children steal food from the limited supply
• A character tricks another character by giving them salt instead of sugar
• A character vomits
• A spaceship captain threatens to kill a character for touching the ship’s controls
• A character threatens to rip out an android’s wiring
• A character attempts to sell the kids to a slave trader
• A character is framed for destroying a planet
• There is a corrupt military with characters who are traitors
• A spaceship captain threatens to destroy another ship unless its crew surrenders
• A character hits a child with the butt of a gun
• Characters in an escape shuttle crash land on a planet
• Soldiers search businesses and ransack homes
• Characters threaten to shoot children
• A character can send a duplicate of themselves to another location
• Soldiers shoot people
• A child orders ale in a restaurant but the waitress brings him a carbonated drink instead
• A child pilots a space craft without permission
• A child is raised by android and lives in isolation
• A character believes he has good luck
• A character harbors a fugitive
• Characters lie
• A child is deathly ill from being stabbed by a poisonous spike
• Characters show a lack of empathy
• A character steals an android
• A character rolls his eyes in annoyance
• A child throws two glasses to the floor in frustration
• Characters use teleportation
• Characters express sarcasm
• Children sneak out of the house
• The book contains moral ambiguity
• The book series ends with unresolved questions